Thursday, September 24, 2009

Among my siblings, I am the most sentimental. My mom is pretty sure that when she gives me something I will hang on to it and value it because of the tie it has with family.
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This pair of eyeglasses belonged to my dad when he was a boy. He was born in 1921 and probably wore them around age 6-8 years old.

The name of the optician is on the back of the glass case. What a surprise to learn this company is still in business and has many locations (some still on Chestnut Street) in the Philadelphia area. In my search, however, I was not able to find any history on J.E.Limeburner Co.

I don't have a photograph of my dad wearing his glasses (he probably disliked them) but I found one when he was just a little guy.
Doesn't he look dapper in his knickers and cap!

~ FSW ~

~♥~
There is lots more Show & Tell Friday at Kelli's place... just click on the above button.
Why not join in? Love to see your Show & Tell!

umm... this delicious dessert is all about autumn flavors. And the cream cheese perfectly complements the pumpkin. Recipe right from the Libby can!
Warning... lots of pictures.For the filling... combine the softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar.Oh, yes!Preparation of the 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan.Powdered sugar sprinkled on towel.Adding the pumpkin to the egg and sugar mixture.Stirring in the dry ingredients.Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.Bake 13-15 minutes.Immediately invert onto towel.Gently pull away the waxed paper.Roll up in the towel.Allow to cool.Spread with the filling and re-roll.It is a good as it looks!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Do you have some of these busy little creatures? My yard is full of evidence of their tireless labor to ensure provisions for the coming winter months.

Wikipedia Photo

Wikipedia Photo

The Eastern Gray Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it hoards food in numerous small caches for later recovery. Some caches are quite temporary, especially those made near the site of a sudden abundance of food which can be retrieved within hours or days for re-burial in a more secure site. Others are more permanent and are not retrieved until months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makesseveral thousand caches each season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use distant and nearby landmarks to retrieve them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimeters of the cache. It is one of very few mammalian species that can descend a tree face-first. It performs this feat by means of the backward-pointing claws, one each, on its hindpaws. (from Wikipedia)

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We have a source of what must be a favorite food of ourEastern Gray Squirrels... Hickory Trees.I can barely mow the back yard withouttripping on all of the nuts on the ground.And watch out below as the squirrels scamper from tree limb to tree limbtossing them down with a loud thud.Maybe because of all the rain we had this year, but there is an abundanceof large hickory nuts everywhere.

~*~I actually like this tree ~ it grows fast and has beautiful largealmond shape leaves. It grows very strait and tallprovides cooling shade in the summer.

Above Photo from top left to right:

Buried in a window box of impatiens

Buried in a patio planter

opened on a back yard bench

Hickory Tree reaching upward

Close-up of nut

hickory nuts

an opened shell

at the base of a tree

right on the patio steps

More evidence of our squirrels constant work are lots of Hickory Trees sprouting up in unexpected places

The Hickory Tree is a tree prized for it's use in tools and equipment because of it's hard wood. The Hickory Tree is also used for fire wood and the Hickory flavor it adds to smoked meats. It is a great tree in areas with high winds because of the tap roots that go down deep in the earth making the trees very wind resistant. Man and animals enjoy the nut from the Hickory Tree.

Hickory wood is very hard, very stiff, very dense and very shock resistant. As stated in the U.S. Forestry Service pamphlet on "Important Trees of Eastern Forests", "there are some woods that are stronger than hickory and some that are harder, but the combination of strength, toughness, hardness, and stiffness found in hickory wood is not found in any other commercial wood."It is used for tool handles, bows, wheel spokes, carts, drumsticks, lacross stick handles, golf club shafts (sometimes still called hickory stick, even though made of steel or graphite ), the bottom of skis and walking sticks. Baseball bats were formerly made of hickory but are now more commonly made of ash. Hickory is also highly prized for wood-burning stoves, because of its high energy content. Hickory wood is also a preferred type for smoke curing meats. Hickory is popular for cooking barbecue, and adds flavor to the meat. Hickory is sometimes used for wood flooring due to its durability and character. (From Wikipedia)

~*~Not as industrious as a squirrel, but I too like to have available home baked/cooked items in my freezer so nutritious foods are always ready for breakfasts, snacks and pop-in visitors.What are some food items you like to stock pile?

Lightly butter or use cooking spray to grease your 9 inch cheesecake pan. If yours has a dimpled bottom like mine, you can add one or two pieces of parchment paper to the bottom to avoid a dimpled pear top. Make thin slices with your 1/4 cup of cold butter, and layer on the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle with a mixture of 1 tbsp brown sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon.

Bake at 350° in regular oven or at 325° in convection oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and turn upside down onto cake plate.

Note: Place a pan on the oven rack under the cake to catch the butter drips. I baked this recipe before it was updated and ended up having to run the exhaust fan while baking and cleaning the oven afterward. You might also try baking in a non-springform pan.

This recipe was found on an absolutely amazing blog whose author overflows with creativity! Centsational Girl will inspire you with every post!

I give permission for photo(s) to be shared only with attribution and a link back to original source.I do not give permission for photo(s) to be accompanied by recipe/tutorial/pattern/instructions/directions.